Getting Organized :: Binders!

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!


You may have noticed from some of my previous organizing posts, but I am OBSESSED with binders.  They can serve so many purposes when it comes to staying organized.  Here's a list of ways I utilize binders in our house:

Recipe Binder ~ I wrote an entire post about my recipe binder a while back, and I still love it dearly.
Sewing & Crocheting ~ I use a pretty binder I found at Target to keep my sewing & crocheting patterns organized.  I have sections for projects I've done, projects I'm working on, and projects I can't wait to try.  The binder is 90% sewing & crocheting, but I've thrown a few other miscellanious ideas & tutorials into it as well.
Kids' Schoolwork ~ I use binders to collect the kids' schoolwork that I want to save.  I don't save every single thing they do at school, but special stories they wrote, big spelling tests, awards, cool art projects, etc.  It's just a sampling of their school-year.  I store the binders on a shelf in the basement closet for when they are older.  So far I've been able to fit 2 school years into one binder (1.5 inch). 
Legos ~ I bought a HUGE binder to organize the kids' HUGE collection of Lego Instruction booklets.  Read all about it here.
Teaching Resources ~ I taught preschool for years, and over time I've collected lots of lesson plans, templates, clip art, forms, etc.  I am starting to use binders to organize all of this stuff for when I go back to teaching in the future.
Instruction Manuals ~ I use another HUGE binder to organize all of our various owners manuals for all of the appliances in our home.  I divide up into sections (kitchen, kids stuff, outside equipment, etc).  This is super helpful when something breaks and we need to reference the manual.
Home Organization ~ I use this binder every single day, and it keeps our family moving in an organized manner.  Read more about it here.  I highly recommend making a binder like this if you are feeling like your life is kind of chaotic.

And here's a couple binders that are on my wishlist:  Life.doc and Valuables.doc

Do you use binders to keep organized?  Please share your ideas!

Getting Organized :: Our Lives :: Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives. Except cleaning. Still waiting on a house elf for that one. Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic. I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section!

 

Just look at this mess!  It's what my desk (ahem, dining room table) looks like on a daily basis!  I've got bills, my calendar, a binder stuffed full of random papers, old pictures to upload, no less than 15 stray lists, my wallet, my ipod, etc. You get the picture...in fact, I'm willing to bet (or at least I am hoping) that I'm not the only one out there with this chaotic kind of desk.  Figuring out a better system for organizing our somewhat hectic lives was a top priority for me this summer.  I wanted to take that binder you see there buried under all of the paper and clean it up to make it more useful.  By the way, as I continue to work on this summer organizational series you will notice a common theme...I'm ADDICTED to binders.  I find them to be ever so helpful.  First I gathered my supplies: my binder and two sets of tab dividers for the binder (I had a lot of "sections" I wanted to develop to get organized). 

And I also bought a cool set of tab dividers with pockets! These have been super helpful for sorting out all of my "stuff" - the bills, important papers, etc.

 My next step was to search etsy.com for a kit to help me organize the binder.   I stumbled upon Life on Purpose's store.  Life on Purpose is a store started by Shannan, a fellow crafty mama who authors the blog: It's Not Always Black & White.  I love her funny stories about her family, tales of their adventures & ideas for fun craft projects (and recipes!).  I purchased from her store a "Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages" for $5.  It was a PDF that she emailed to me lickety split.  The file contains 23 printable pages to help get yourself organized (perfect for list addicts like myself).  Included are:  An Outline; Weekly Planner; Weekly To-Do List; Weekend To-Do List; Master To-Do List; Family Member Info Sheet (so helpful to have around, in case of an emergency, or for babysitters!); Pet Info Sheet (I should point out here, that you don't necessarily have to use all of the printable pages...only those you need!); Birthdays and Anniversaries List; Home Storage Inventory List; Movie Inventory (I will never again forget who I loaned a movie to!); Movie Wish List; Book Inventory; Book Wish List; Party Planning Guide; Party Guest list; Dinner Menu Plan; Favorite Recipes (Great way to remember which cookbook your favorite recipes are in!); Recipes to Try; Important Phone Numbers; Contact List.  Lists, lists, lists!  I was in heaven when I received the PDF!  Since I purchased my kit, she has also added an itemized grocery list & recipe page to her shop.

The "Master To-Do" list has been my best friend these past few weeks.  I printed several...a master list for me, a master list for Michael, a master list for summer fun (ie: the bucket list) and a master list of projects I want need to complete this summer.

Here's a few more sample pages...I took these pix the day I got the kit, so they are not blank anymore ;) 

I love this kit.  I love it so much I emailed Shannon to ask her if she could share some goodies with my readers, and she agreed!  She gave me FIVE sets of the "Household Organizational Notebook Printable Pages" to give to five lucky winners AND she gave me a discount code for her shop to share with my readers!  {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}  And please note, her shop is not limited to lists and such!  She has hair bows for little girls, art work, tutus, and other cool stuff!

So run, don't walk to the Life on Purpose etsy store and check out all of her cool items, and if you feel like shopping (those bows & tutus would make great gifts for any little girl in your life) then use the special code to get 20% off!  LITTLETHINGS20 ~ this code will give you 20% off anything in the store.  PLEASE NOTE, THIS COUPON CODE IS EXPIRED.

Now...on to the exciting stuff...everyone loves a giveaway!

{GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

Getting Organized :: The Recipe Binder

This summer I am doing my best to take steps to get more organized...in every area of our lives.  Except cleaning.  Still waiting on a house elf for that one.  Some of the changes I'm making are huge, some are tiny, but in the end, they are all helping to make our lives feel a little less chaotic.  I want to share my ideas with you over the summer, in the hopes that you will find inspiration for organizing, or perhaps share some organizing ideas with me in the comments section! 

Getting Organized :: The Recipe Binder

Until last month my recipes were a jumble.  I had a recipe box, and the recipes that were on larger pieces of paper were haphazardly stuck into a binder.  And I had a rather large collection of recipes I wanted to try at some point but had forgotten about because they were crammed in the back of the crazy-messy binder.  I needed to figure out some way to clean it all up and make it more user-friendly.  I started to look for a recipe binder.  I know I could make my own, but I wanted something nice that would hold up well in my kitchen, and big enough to hold all of my recipes.  I found just what I was looking for on Amazon.

The CR Gibson Bon Appetit Deluxe Kitchen Binder

I adore this binder.  It was just under $30, and the price tag made me hem and haw abit before purchasing, but I'm so glad I decided to do it.  I think it is well worth the cost because it condensed all of my favorite recipes into one place.  It comes with lots of features.

12 tabbed dividers (Brunch, Side Dish, Appetizer, Salads, Main Course, etc)

It also came with cute 5x7 recipe cards and plastic pocket pages to hold them (I also ordered replacement plastic pocket pages because I had soooooo many recipe cards).  I love this system so much more than my recipe box!  And by the way, I took this opportunity to ditch some recipes, those that just weren't keeping were pitched.

The binder also came with 8.5x11 plastic sheet protectors, which I used to store my full-page recipes, and I used a few to seperate all of my "need to try these" recipes.  I made a section for main dishes, side dishes, desserts, etc.  I have found this much easier to go through when I am looking for a new dish to try.

The binder also had this clasped folder in the back.  I use it to store my top secret recipes ;)

I have found meal-planning to be much easier since I organized my countless recipes into one big binder.  And I think that this binder is going to hold up well over the years so that I can pass it on to one of my children when they are old enough to start cooking for me.

How do you organize your recipes?

**disclaimer:  this is not a paid advertisement.  the company has no idea i am raving about them, i am not getting compensation.  i just love my new recipe binder!